Sticks and Stones
by GamecubeSlendy
Summary: Echo was a spoiled kittypet. Everything she had ever wanted and more lied in her twolegs nest, but an unknown force seemed to call her toward the forest. Will she answer the call?
1. Chapter 1

Echo purred in the lap of her twoleg, perfectly content with the soft hand stroking her head. She glanced over to her food bowl with her piercing green eyes to find it filled with the pellets her twolegs had almost always fed to her, although this time it was mixed in with what smelled like some kind of fish. Echo angled her head up toward her twoleg and purred. How could it get much better than this? She had a loving grown twoleg and even a little twoleg that she often liked to play with, and she also had a limitless supply of food and water. A loud cry came from the nursery where the little twoleg nested, causing the grown twoleg to move her to the ground. She stretched, watching her twoleg scramble down the hall toward the little boy. The long-haired brown tabby she-cat scurried out her door leading to the backyard, pausing to let the scents flow past her. The somewhat strong scent of pine trees, the comforting scent of growing flowers, the succulent scent of prey scurrying in the forest beyond... and the wild cats. Yes, their scents stood out among the rest. She had heard stories about them being horrible cats, that they'd kill you on had also heard they were gruesome looking, enough to make any cat gag on the sight of them. But, instead of fear; an air of mystery hung around her as she dreamed about the wild cats.  
Suddenly, a loud yowl startled Echo back to reality. She hopped up on a table and watched as two cats battled roughly, tearing tufts of fur out. Echo stared in wonder. They didn't look gruesome at all. They looked like...normal cats. Maybe the rumor weren't true...maybe they weren't as bad as the others had thought. But, she could only sit in her dreams as she watched the two cats battle. A black and white tom was clawing at a pale silver tom, blood pooling on the ground. But, the pale silver tom reared back and gave one strong swipe at the black and white tom, knocking him to the ground. Unfortunately, the black and white tom lay still on the ground as the other cat clawed him to near death. No, she couldn't just sit and watch. She dashed over the fence and ran on with hesitant steps, not knowing what she was getting herself into. Although she was only a few moons older than a kit, she wasn't near as big as the pale silver cat; though she was about the same size as the black and white one. She launched herself at the pale silver cat with claws outstretched. She had managed to make a claw mark across his face, causing a hiss of annoyance from him.  
"Stay out of this!" the pale silver cat yowled.  
"You can't just kill him! That's wrong!" Echo said nervously. But, she stood over the black and white cat; protecting him.  
"You're just a kittypet" the silver cat spat.  
Echo tilted her head in confusion. "Kittypet?" she mumbled. Was it some sort of curse word? She shrugged it off wearily, not knowing what to think of it.  
The silver cat hissed frustratingly, "Just leave." he hissed.  
Echo tensed. "What if I don't?" she challenged.  
"I don't think you would want to find out." the silver cat chuckled.  
"It's wrong to kill another cat, and I won't let you do it." she growled.  
The silver cat eyed her warily for a moment then shrugged. "He's as good as dead anyways, I'll let you have him. But I'd watch out," he said before flashing her an eerily beautiful smile in the darkness, "or the wild cats will get you." The tom padded into the dense forest with his tail high and a smirk plastered onto his face.  
Echo turned her attention to the limp form below her. "You alive...?" she asked, prodding him with a paw.  
The cat opened one eye and gave a light growl. "Just leave me here to die." he said, "You heard Swiftfoot, I'm as good as dead."  
Echo smirked. "I just risked my life facing a wild cat to save you and now you want me to leave?" she murmured.  
"Exactly." the tom said, turning his head.  
Echo shrugged. "Suit yourself," she said, slowly padding away.  
"Wait..." the tom grumbled.  
Echo turned around and raised an eyebrow with a smile. "Yes?" she asked.  
"I need help..." he grumbled.  
Echo chuckled and padded over to him, grabbing him by the scruff. "First you need to get out of this clearing" she said, dragging him away with an apparent struggle. She took him to her twoleg nest, with some difficulty getting him through the pet door, and set him down on a blanket.  
"I don't like this place." he hissed.  
"I could just take you back out there." Echo said, though she didn't want to really; not wanting to make that difficult trip again.  
"Fine..." he spat, laying his head down on his paws.  
"You hungry?" she asked.  
"Starving. You have any squirrel?" he asked.  
"I have pellets." Echo said, stifling laughter.  
"I think I'll pass then." he said.  
Echo nodded. "So what's your name?" she asked.  
"Pinepaw." he said.  
"Weird name. Mine's Echo." she said, flicking her tail in amusement.  
"I'll be gone by tomorrow." he said, turning around the lick his wound. It was a deep scratch on his thigh that prevented him from moving steadily.  
"Stay as long as you want, I don't mind." Echo said, stretching.  
"Well I mind." Pinepaw said.  
"So why were you fighting...uh...Swiftfoot was it?" Echo asked, sitting herself down.  
"He stepped onto Thunderclan territory. I saw him while I was making dirt and I fought him." he said, shrugging.  
"Charming." Echo said, rolling her eyes. "So you guys have territories?" she asked.  
"Yes. Thunderclan, Riverclan, Shadowclan, and Windclan each have a section of the forest. We mustn't step on eachother's territory without permission though, that's why I had to fight Swiftfoot." he said.  
"What's up with your names?" Echo asked, laughing.  
Pinepaw blinked at her. "When we're born, our parents give us our names. I was Pinekit. Then, when we're at least six moons old we get our apprentice names, mine being Pinepaw. My mentor will train me until he thinks I'm ready to become a warrior." Pinepaw's eyes sparkled at the thought of being a warrior, "When I'm a warrior then I'll have my own apprentice and then be deputy then leader..." he said excitedly.  
"That sounds interesting." Echo said, not caring that much.  
"Your the one who asked." Pinepaw spat.  
"I'm sorry!" Echo said, standing up.  
"Whatever, I guess I'll be sleeping here." he said.  
"Ya. I'll be down the hall if you need me." she grumbled, padding down the hall toward the nursery.  
"Hall?" Pinepaw asked.  
Echo entered the nursery and stood on her backlegs to see the little twoleg resting in it's nest, the grown twoleg sitting in a chair. Echo curled herself up on a tiny bed that had been laid out for her and let her eyes flutter shut. So many questions remained in her mind, but the underlying answer was she could never know. For she was not and would never be a wild cat.


	2. The Dream

_Echo darted through the forest, on the trail of a stray rabbit. She stalked it quickly, the rabbit silently nibbling on a clover. As she reared back for a killing blow, a loud crack snapped her head up; the rabbit realizing a predator was there and speeding off. Echo narrowed her eyes in the direction of the loud noise that had caused her to lose her prey.  
"Mouse-brain..." she hissed.  
A beautiful__ tortoiseshell and white she-cat emerged from a dense bush and smiled warmly. "Hello young one." she said, " Are you lost?"  
Echo tilted her head. "I would think not. I'm in a dream aren't I?" she asked.  
The she-cat chuckled softly. "What's your name?" she asked.  
"Echo." Echo said softly, somewhat curious about the new cat.  
"That answers one of my questions. I'm Spottedleaf, former Thunderclan medicine cat." Spottedleaf said with her warm tone.  
Echo smirked. "Your one of those wild cats? How are you even in my dream i don't know you." she said, shaking her head.  
"Your questions will be answered soon enough Echo." Spottedleaf said, flicking her tail.  
Echo furrowed her eyebrows and looked around. The forest was unusually bright and lush, prey seeming to run everywhere. A slight breeze picked up and rustled leaves. "What is this place?" Echo asked dreamily. She had never seen a forest so beautiful.  
Spottedleaf lowered her head. "I'm afraid even I do not know, I have resided here ever since my second death." she whispered.  
Echo smirked. "Your second death?" she said, stifling a mrrooww of laughter.  
Spottedleaf looked up. "Well yes." she blinked.  
"What do you take me for? A fool?" Echo asked, a light growl.  
Spottedleaf widened her eyes, then softened them. "I have a feeling I'll be meeting you here again in the near future. But for now, I must be going." she said, turning around.  
Echo growled. "Why do you have to be so secretive?" she growled.  
Spottedleaf gave a loud laugh. "You remind me of someone I once knew." she laughed.  
Echo narrowed her eyes. "Your crazy." she muttered.  
Spottedleaf walked on, not bothering to turn back.  
Echo smirked then launched herself at Spottedleaf, claws outstretched. But, Spottedleaf turned around sharply and hit a forepaw on Echo's back, knocking her to the ground. "W..Wah?" she mumbled, visibly confused.  
"I don't fight." she said, darting off once more.  
Echo shook her head and stood up. Who was this cat? She had a weird name like Pinepaw. "Fine, be that way." Echo grumbled, struggling to scent that rabbit once more. Suddenly, a squirrel stood beside her; poking her with a stick. "What the..." she said.  
_The squirrel faded from view as Echo opened her eyes to see Pinepaw poking her in the ribs with his forepaw. "You up?" he asked.  
"No..." Echo grumbled, stuffing her face into a blanket.  
"Well I don't like it in there." he muttered, shifting his weight.  
Echo smirked. "Did the little kit have a nightmare?" she asked, mocking him.  
Pinepaw's pelt bristled. "No! I just don't think it's safe in there." he hissed.  
Echo rolled her eyes and scooted over for Pinepaw to lay down. "Your such a kit." she laughed.  
Pinepaw hesitantly lay down on the other side of the bed, laying his head on his forepaws. "Why do you choose to be a kittypet?" he asked.  
Echo shrugged. "Its not like I can do much else." she said.  
"I could never be a kittypet." Pinepaw muttered, "They are such mouse-brains."  
Echo rolled her eyes. "Not mouse-brained enough to pick fights with older cats." she said.  
"You wouldn't understand!" Pinepaw hissed.  
Echo stretched out. "Your right, I don't understand." she said.  
"Whatever..." Pinepaw growled.  
Echo shut her eyes once more, desperate to see the mysterious Spottedleaf once more but found sleep did not come. She flicked her tail irritably.  
Beside her, Pinepaw stood up carefully. He slightly limped out the door and away from the house.  
Echo smirked in the darkness of the nursery, as much as she loved to annoy Pinepaw, she was relieved to be away from a wild cat that was potentially dangerous. Who was she kidding? He couldn't kill a squirrel with a limp. Echo pricked her ears at the sound of the little twoleg rustling, dreading the loud noise it usually made. But, none came. She stood up and bounded up to the crib, looking inside. The little twoleg was in a deep sleep, fidgeting. Somehow, Echo felt somewhat disgusted. Maybe cats weren't meant to stay with twolegs. She shrugged it off, returning to her bed to at least get a few more hours of sleep in.  
_  
_

**Sorry this one was shorter :( but i promise the next one will be longer! Thanks to all who reviewed! and I'm sorry if the way i write hurts your eyes XD **


	3. Welcome to Thunderclan

**Hallo~ Ok. So the rest of the story takes place about a year or so after the last two chapters! Haha thought I'd tell ya so you wouldn't get confused XD Hope you like it!**

Echo trotted aimlessly throughout the twoleg nest. Her twolegs had gone into their monster a few hours ago and hadn't come back yet. Glancing over at her food bowl, she saw not one pellet laying in the bowl. Where had they gone? Echo paced nervously. No, something wasn't right. The house was to empty, the air to tense, the neighborhood to quiet. Echo stopped pacing and looked toward the forest. She had often looked to the lush green forest for comfort, though she found none this time. Hissing frustratingly, she hopped onto the couch to look out the window. A monster roared onto the driveway, a sigh of relief escaping Echo. She watched as the two twolegs exited the monster, somewhat tired looking. As they came in the door, a black van entered the driveway as well. Two men with guns darted out of the van and ran toward the house. Echo shifted her weight uncomfortably then greeted her twolegs.  
The door busted off its hinges, knocking the baby twoleg over. The grown twoleg scrambled to pick him up, looking around to see the cause. Echo yowled at the intruder, arching her back and baring her teeth. The grown twoleg threw himself at the two men, desperate to keep them away from his child. He fought furiously, giving himself no time to recover from the punches they had given him. Echo felt a rush of pride as her twoleg fought, but it was soon replaced by horror when a single shot rang in the air. Echo looked at her twoleg with the utmost horror, discovering a hole in his chest with blood pouring out. He dropped to the ground, his eyes blank.  
"NO!" Echo yowled, hissing at the intruders.  
The intruders chuckled at the cat that had tried to act brave, reaching for the little twoleg who was sobbing in a corner.  
"You can't have him!" Echo hissed, clawing at one of their eyes.  
A pained yowl came from him and he scrambled away from the cat. The other intruder put a hand to his chin in thought. Echo glared up at him with menacing eyes, daring him to try anything. He suddenly brought out a plastic bag, stuffing her inside.  
"What's going no!?" she screamed, clumsily trying to get out. Soon, she passed out from the lack of oxygen. The last thing she saw through the blurry vision of the plastic bag was a bloody pool where the baby twoleg once was. She had failed to protect them...  
_Echo fluttered her eyes open, looking around at her surroundings. She was in the forest she was once in in a dream where she had met the mysterious Spottedleaf. She slowly stood up and looked around. "Hello?" she called cautiously.  
The beautiful tortoiseshell emerged from the bushes, an alarmed look in her eyes. "Echo! You have to wake up!" she hissed.  
Echo tilted her head. "Wake up?" she asked.  
Spottedleaf arched her back. "Do it now! Or you'll be lost to your destiny!" she yowled.  
Echo smirked. "You still talk nonsense..." she chuckled.  
Spottedleaf gave a ferocious yowl. "I'm not talking nonsense! Wake yourself up now, Starclan has no place for you if you die now!" she growled.  
"Starclan?" Echo asked, confused.  
Spottedleaf clawed at Echo, desperate to wake her up. Echo stumbled off her paws, a sudden pain arising in her right leg.  
"What's happening?!" she cried, a gash forming across her leg.  
Spottedleaf drooped her head. "No amount of herbs can help that. That's why you need to wake up now." she said, shaking her head.  
Echo screamed as the gash became bigger, her leg decaying at a fast-pace."What's happening!?" she yowled.  
Spottedleaf gave a low growl. "Stop asking questions you mouse-brain! Do what I say!" she hissed.  
Echo widened her eyes and gritted her teeth against the pain. She did not know how to wake herself up, but the smell of blood seemed to wake herself up for her.  
_Echo's eyes fluttered open, only to find herself on the side of a thunderpath. She stood up but soon toppled over. She looked over at her front left leg and almost yowled from horror. Where her leg once was, a bloody stub remained. It was messily patched up, a few randomly placed stitches closing her wound a tad. "Help..." she sobbed, fresh tears running down her cheeks.  
The wind blew through her long brown tabby fur. A few monsters shined their lights on the thunderpath, roaring past her. But she paid no mind, the shock of being three-legged fresh in her mind. Why would someone do this to her? She had done no wrong... all she had done was loved. Echo leaned over, with a slight wince, and cleaned off her wound. She examined the rest of her wounds as well, noting a gash across her back. Suddenly, the image of her beloved twolegs crossed her mind. Their blood pouring out of their wounds...and those blank eyes. She had to help. Echo shakily stood up, but fell back down in pain.  
At that moment, the wind carried scents of cats coming this way. Echo tensed. She was to weak to fight them off, she had no chance.  
"Do you smell blood?" a voice asked.  
Echo hissed quietly.  
"Ya! Maybe we should follow it!" a different voice said.  
"Mouse-brain! There's probably a battle." yet another voice hissed.  
"No," said the first voice, "It's a single cat."  
"So we should follow it?" the second voice asked hopefully.  
"It might be a good idea." the first voice said.  
Echo could hear the pawsteps coming closer. She silently sobbed, expecting the worse. She cowered against the side of the thunderpath, hiding her face.  
"Hello?" said the first voice, coming from right next to her.  
"Please don't kill me." she sobbed.  
"We won't kill you." he said gently.  
"She's a loner! She'll steal our prey!" the second voice yowled.  
"What's your name?" the first voice asked gently.  
"E..Echo." she said shakily.  
"My name's Frostfur. Your safe now." he said.  
Echo tensed. That was a weird name like Pinepaw. She glanced up to see a snow white tom looking down at her. He had long white fur and was strongly built. "Your a wild cat." she gasped.  
Frostfur chuckled. "I don't think your a loner, your a kittypet aren't you?" he asked.  
Echo nodded. She raised her head more to see a short haired tabby tom fiddling with a leaf off to the side. "What's your name?" she asked.  
the tabby tom stopped, looking at her. "Oakfur." he said.  
Echo nodded. She turned her amber gaze to the next cat. A strongly built black and white tom with green eyes averted his gaze from her, a slight scowl on his face. "And you?" she asked.  
The black and white tom growled at her, warning her to quit asking questions.  
Frostfur shook his head. "That's Pinenose, though he's grumpy he can be quite friendly." he said.  
Echo froze. Pine... she had heard that name before. Was it Pinepaw? No, they looked so different.  
The black tom glared at her. "What are you looking at." he hissed.  
Echo snapped back to reality. "Oh.. sorry! You just remind me of someone I used to know." she said.  
The black tom lowered his head, ending the topic.  
"Can you stand?" Frostfur asked.  
Echo shook her head vigorously.  
Frostfur furrowed his brow in thought. "Well, we could get Olivenose to come." he said thoughtfully.  
Pinenose hissed. "Why should we help a kittypet?" he said, emphasizing kittypet.  
Frostfur glared at Pinenose. "Why shouldn't we? She's hurt and won't survive on her own. Besides, she could be useful." he said.  
Pinenose hissed once more, then sat down and stayed quiet.  
"Oakfur!" Frostfur called.  
Oakfur looked up from his leaf and bounded over. "Ya?" he asked.  
"Go and fetch Olivenose." Frostfur said plainly.  
Oakfur nodded. Frolicking off toward camp.  
"Who's Olivenose?" Echo asked.  
"She's our medicine cat." Frostfur said.  
"Oh...ok." Echo said. Why did she trust them so much? Maybe it was because she had once known a wild cat. She shrugged it off, turning her attention to her wound.  
"So what happened?" Frostfur asked.  
Echo trembled. "T..They came into the house and shot them... Then they put me into a bag. I couldn't breathe..." Echo said, tears falling down her face. "Then I woke up in a forest..." she said, shaking her head.  
Frostfur tilted his head. "A forest?" he asked.  
Echo nodded. "Yes. I go there sometimes." she said, blinking.  
Pinenose rolled his eyes. "Your scent isn't ever in our forest." he said.  
Echo shook her head. "No, it's like a dream forest... It's so perfect there. Although, I've only met one cat there." she admitted.  
"Who?" Frostfur asked.  
Echo thought a minute before answering. "Spottedleaf I think. But she's kinda annoying," Echo said.  
"That's impossible!" Pinenose hissed.  
Echo widened her eyes. "Believe what you want." she said.  
Frostfur gaped at her. "Her names Spottedleaf you say?" he said.  
Echo nodded. "Mhm." she answered.  
"Interesting..." Frostfur said.  
Right then, Oakfur padded up with a cream colored cat with a white splash on her face. "I got her!" he called.  
Olivenose padded up to Echo, flinching a little at the smell of blood. "This is serious." she said.  
Echo put her head on her one paw, tired of all this interaction.  
Olivenose poked at her wound with a paw. "Even though it's messily patched up, I think it'll heal. But, you'll still need to come to camp for some herbs. That wound isn't going to heal for awhile." she said.  
"How can I when i can't even walk!" Echo hissed.  
Olivenose smirked. "You can walk. Cats with three legs can walk." she said.  
Echo growled. She heaved herself to her paws but soon toppled over from the emptiness on her left side.  
"Try again, but this time put all of your weight in your remaining three paws." she said.  
Echo rolled her eyes, heaving herself to her paws once more. When she took Olivenose's advice, she found it somewhat easy to walk. "It still feels weird." she grumbled.  
"That's normal. You'll get over it." Olivenose said, flicking her tail which motioned to follow her.  
Oakfur and Frostfur flanked Echo to keep her balanced while Pinenose trudged along the back. "What's your camp like?" she asked curiously.  
"Lots of dens." Oakfur said.  
Frostfur shook his head. "Well we're about there so you'll get a clearer picture in a minute." he said.  
Echo narrowed her eyes as she looked ahead, only seeing a thorn wall. But, Olivenose dove through the thorns. Frostfur motioned for her to do the same. "I'm not doing that!" she said.  
Pinenose smirked. "Kittypet afraid of thorns?" he said.  
"Your thick coat won't be affected by them." Frostfur said.  
Echo hesitantly dove through the barrier to reveal a clearing. She stared in awe at the camp, ignoring the cats hissing at her.  
Frostfur motioned to everything with his tail. "The cave up there," he said pointing up to a hole in a giant rock with a bunch of smaller rocks leading up to it, "Is the leader's den." He moved his tail to a burrow that was expertly hidden behind a couple of rocks. "That's the nursery. It seems kind of odd to have it in a burrow but it's big enough for about three queens. It's great to hide in as well." he said. He then moved his tail to a fallen tree that lay across half of the clearing. "That's the warrior's den. That's where most of the cats make their nests." he said. Pointing to a tall patch of grass he said, "That's the medicine cat's den. Through the grass is a cave that's actually a decent size." he said. Lastly he pointed toward a standing tree that was raised high enough for cats to get through. "That's the apprentice's den." he said.  
Echo was gaped at all the dens, amazed that a group of cats could do all this.  
Pinenose trotted past her with a fake grin and a malicious look in his eyes plastered on his face. "Welcome the Thunderclan." he said.


End file.
